MILOS COVE — Hotel in Municipality of Milos

We decided to stay at Milos Cove for the last stretch of our honeymoon in Greece and it was disappointing to say the least. There were some highlights, but many disappointments for a so called “5 Star resort”. This is absolutely not a 5 star resort—The food is very good and the views are spectacular but that’s about it. We will not be returning.

The positives:

This scenery and natural landscape is gorgeous—stunning Mountain views

The beautiful beach—the resort had a pretty easily accessible beach compared to others which we were very happy about and spent a lot of our time there.

The food and drinks—there are negatives to this but I’ll focus on the positive here. The food options for lunch and dinner are delicious. The resort has an incredibly talented chef. Anestis took care of us for 3 nights that we dined in the restaurant and his service was superb. He was very kind and professional.

The spa—my husband and I had a wonderful experience at the spa. We each got aromatherapy massages and used the sauna. Our massage therapist was extremely personable and professional.

The breakfast is included in the cost. It is a buffet but you can also order items a la carte.

The not so good things

This resort is EXTREMELY isolated—about a 20 minute drive from the main port and the cost for a one way transfer anywhere is €70. We found that this is standard for any taxi service here, making it very expensive to explore new areas of the island or even go to dinner at a restaurant. The roads to get to the resort are mainly gravel and as it is super isolated, it is a pitch black drive most of the way. Renting a car seemed like an option until we realized how dangerous and difficult it would be to remember where to drive to get back to the resort in the dark—the roadways are established until a certain point.

Because the resort is so isolated and cost to get to any other restaurant and back to the resort would be €140 alone, we felt we didn’t have much of a choice but to eat at the only restaurant at the resort. A typical entree here was around €45 and cocktails about €25.

Regarding service to the beach—to get to the beach, you have to walk or golf cart down some steep hills. We were told that the staff could golf cart you down to the beach if you’d prefer not to walk and that you can place orders for food and drinks and they would bring it down to you—we thought that was a great perk, although that didn’t seem to happen unless you walked up the hills to the bar and requested it. We spent nearly 6 hours at the beach and not a single staff member or golf cart came down to check on any of the guests. We had to walk up and order our drinks and food and request they bring it down. For a 5 star resort, you’d think they’d come check on the guests at least once in a 6 hour time frame.

The pool bar—they have a pool bar which also offers to bring drinks down to the beach for you, which, the first time we visited, they did, and the drinks were delicious! We came back the next day to order a drink and the bartender looked at us and said “tell me”. We then gave her our drink order and she responded that “I am closed for the season.” Confused, we responded that we didn’t realize she was closed as we ordered there yesterday and we weren’t given any notice that the pool bar would be closing during our stay. She then gestured with wide arms presenting the bar behind her and said “yeah, I’m closed for the season” like we should have known. Extremely rude and unprofessional—we should have been notified of this.

Our room was about 85 degrees when we arrived—it was cooler outside.

The service/interactions with certain staff members—our experience with staff members was very hit or miss. Polite engagements don’t seem to get polite responses back from the staff here. We felt more like a nuisance to the reception staff than guests who were paying to stay at the resort. During our check out, we were not asked how our stay was (probably because they knew what we would say) and the woman at the reception was very...

Ok, this is an honest (and long) review. Hopefully it helps you make the right decision and also HINTS to the management on what they should do to make it better.

When booking, my fiance and I wanted to "splurge" for our last two days in Milos. For us, this meant paying the price for this hotel. We had no issue doing this, but we had high expectations. After our stay at Milos Cove, I can say it’s not worth how much they're charging people.

THE GOOD: -The location is stunning. Truly. The dramatic views of the cliffs + pool + beach... wow. -Private beach: You have to walk down (or can request a golf cart) a path to get to the beach. It's nestled between the cliff and the mountains-- totally secluded and gorgeous! -The staff: Friendly, cordial, and warm.

THE NOT-SO GOOD: -The price: This hotel is not worth how much they're charging. I believe we paid around $600-$700 per night. We didn't have a problem paying for this when we booked, but the actual hard product does not match this rate AT ALL. The hotel overall feels very sterile and has no character. It's obvious where they cut corners to decrease costs and overall lacks special details that justify the steep pricing. In the main lounge area, they just put a bunch of sterile chairs and sofas that look like they're from a bad airport lounge. The reception area is quite horrendous. You walk into what feels like a dark room in a cheap planetarium. The floors are black and dirty because, OBVIOUSLY, black floors and sand, dirt, salt = noticeable stains. Not a good impression first impression.

-The road to get there: Yeah, it's not great. It's doable, but you do have to be careful. And if you plan on coming back after dark, beware. They do warn you immediately after booking. I’m not sure I believe the whole “ancient burial site” thing, especially after being in the hotel and seeing how they cut corners to cut costs. Regardless, if you’re driving, the road is not impossible but it is tedious and adds a lot of extra time to your journey.

-The overall vibe: Again, this place has SO much potential because the location is truly incredible. But it has absolutely no vibe. I understand that privacy is key. But there are ways to make private spaces more inviting and warm. Even during the peak of summer, it felt like the hotel was at 50% occupation or so, which must tell you something, Milos Cove management! The overall vibe of the place is sterile, lackluster, and, quite frankly, boring.

-The food: The menus were very average. There is no vision behind the food- it feels as stale as the hotel. And what they charge you for it is absolutely ridiculous, especially in the context of prices in Milos. I understand that it might be very expensive for them to bring the food and drinks through THAT road. If you’re gonna charge that much, the food better be great. Why should the guest pay a premium for sub-par food just because it’s hard to source?

-The service: While the service was not bad, there’s a way to make it better. For example, when we were in the pool area (and there was literally only one other couple there) the waitress saw us and didn’t come to offer a menu or anything. I had to go to her. She was perfectly nice, but this is the type of thing you absolutely cannot do in a “5 star hotel”, especially if there’s literally no one there.

Ok, I know there's a lot here. To sum it up: We would never pay the rates for this experience again. Hotel management, you guys need to make a decision: Either elevate the hard product (hire a designer, elevate the gastronomical experience, build a cohesive space that is more harmonious and inviting, add more details, train your staff on personalization, and overall make it a true luxury experience) to justify the price you charge OR lower the prices and align the true experience of this hotel to what people should be paying, which is definitely NOT $700+ or more a night. If they charged closer to $300 a night or so, people would not be complaining as much, trust me! I hope this...

My partner and I (early 30s) were looking for a relaxing place to spend a few days and 5* luxury. We actually toured a couple of similar hotels in Milos, including White Pebble Suites, so I feel we gained a fairly rounded view of the hotels and what they each offer their guests.

What you’ll likely read again and again are the great bits about Milos Cove (which I’d agree with) and those include: STUNNING location and views, not sure I’ve ever seen anything like it from a hotel - the private beach is incredible Beautiful architecture and decor (something we look for in Greek hotels as we’ve stayed at similar hotels like Olea and Contessina in Zakinthos and loved them) Feeling of being secluded or escaping (not for everyone as you’ll see from reviews but this was something we actually were looking for)

There were some further comments/nuances I’d like to add to the reviews here though. The hotel looked 5, but it didn’t feel 5. Here are a few reasons I felt this: The staff were kind and friendly people, but they didn’t go above and beyond for us. It is hard to describe but it didn’t feel as if “the customer is always right” (as you’ll see from replies from the hotel to poorer reviews in this thread). Examples include, not checking on you by the pool, not knowing the menus well and not being prepared to adjust menus to suit guest orders (it felt a bit “computer says no”), we only saw the guest relations manager on arrival otherwise they were nowhere to be seen, not getting orders correct, chatting amongst themselves a lot and not noticing when people were trying to catch their attention etc. but it was also just that we weren’t ever really surprised or touched by anything they did (other than the owner introducing himself to us on arrival), and that is ultimately something I would expect when paying these kind of prices and promised a 5* hotel. The dinner menu left a lot to be desired. It felt like it was trying too hard to do something different and flavours were sacrificed to achieve that. Even the Greek salad was quirky (and honestly the worst we had on the island - and we stayed for 10 days). There was nothing simple like a catch of the day with salad and fries etc. even that has weird twists. Also everything was overpriced for what it was, and whilst I’ve been at other hotels on the island and gladly spent liberally, here I felt robbed having to buy dinner multiple times and feeling disappointed. Alcohol was also extortionate (bring your own) and the cocktails weren’t great. The reason it’s essential they get this right in the future is because the hotel is so secluded that you want to have a dinner in, or else you really need a car to get anywhere (or €140 euros for a there and back cab ride… the taxis in the Aegean Islands are daylight robbers) The finishing touches were lacking. Things like good music, fridges that work (we ordered multiple ice buckets to the room), single gin and tonics under €14, international wines at affordable prices, high quality fittings, etc.

Final answer: I would recommend this hotel to others but only for a couple of nights. With several caveats - get your own car so you can eat dinner out (you’ll unfortunately need a 4 by 4 to get to the hotel but you’ll be glad you have it on this island). Don’t expect the 5* service you might be used to (excluding your initial checkin and orientation, which was good - perhaps helped by the shock you’ll experience when you see the hotel for the first time). Bring your own alcohol. If you love music (and not covers of pop songs), bring a speaker for your...